The Supreme Court of Spain has reduced the fines for the civil guards convicted of tobacco smuggling.

The Supreme Court upheld the prison sentences but reduced the amount of fines for a group of civil guards. Two of them worked in Tenerife. They were found guilty of participating in tobacco smuggling. During the operation, 48 million packs of cigarettes were seized, worth an estimated 6.2 million euros, and would have cost 7.9 million on the market.

Initially, a court in Barcelona sentenced six defendants to various prison terms, ranging from 15 months to one and a half months. They were found guilty of ongoing attempted smuggling and bribery.

They were also ordered to pay fines ranging from 16 million to 1.5 million euros.

Now, the Supreme Court has partially granted the appeals of three convicts. One of them, a civil guard from Puerto de la Cruz, had his fine reduced from 1.5 million to 388,000 euros. The other two had theirs reduced from 3.1 million to 776,000 euros each.

The reduction in fines took into account that the case had been pending for too long.

The court ruling states that the scheme was uncovered after an investigation that began in 2009. Two civil guards stated that another agent from the town of Tacoronte in Tenerife had tried to bribe them. He was the main defendant and was on sick leave at the time of the events.

In 2009, he offered another agent 6,000 euros for information on anti-smuggling operations carried out by the Civil Guard.

The agent not only refused but also reported it to his superiors.

The same defendant, through a corporal from Puerto de la Cruz, contacted the owner of a nightclub in Barcelona. He wanted information about warehouses where smuggled tobacco could be hidden.

He also offered 6,000 euros to connect him with agents from Barcelona who would inform him about operations. But the club owner also reported this to his superiors. They also learned of the involvement of two convicts who worked in Tenerife.

It was later established that three more defendants and a woman were involved in the scheme. It was proven that from June to October 2009, they imported tobacco from China into Spain without complying with the rules.

They imported the goods to Barcelona, then shipped them to Bilbao, and from there to Ireland, without paying customs duties, and passed it off as a legitimate business.

The Supreme Court believes that the agent from Tacoronte played the main role in the scheme. With the help of the agent from Puerto de la Cruz, he received the necessary information. He was also assisted by his sister-in-law, who was in charge of processing the containers.

The agent from Puerto de la Cruz helped him contact the nightclub owner, who provided information on warehouses for storing the goods and connected him with an informant who reported on seizures.